


A Chance At Something More

by ericsonclan



Series: The Everett Bunch [5]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Adoption, Brownies, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:08:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27649327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Omid and Christa anxiously wait to meet their newest foster children.
Relationships: Brody & Ruby (Walking Dead: Done Running), Christa/Omid (Walking Dead: Long Road Ahead)
Series: The Everett Bunch [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988578
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	A Chance At Something More

**Author's Note:**

> (by Linnea)

Christa paced back and forth by the door. She knew that it didn’t help make her kids feel any less nervous seeing her pacing, but she couldn’t help it. Her stomach was twisting with nerves and excitement. Just what kind of kids would she and Omid foster? Would they get along with Violet, Louis and Omar? Her mind was becoming consumed by the endless questions. Suddenly she felt her right hand being covered with a comforting warmth. Looking up, she saw Omid’s smiling face.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. We’ll take this one day at a time,” 

Christa felt her shoulder relax at her husband’s words. “Right, alright,” She gave a small smile towards Omid when suddenly Louis jumped up from his chair.

“I see them!” Louis pointed at the front window. Christa and Omid ran over to stand by their son who pointed to two redhead girls who were walking hand in hand with the social worker. 

As soon as the doorbell rang Louis ran forward, throwing open the door. “Hi! I’m Louis!” Louis gave a huge grin and extended his hand.

Christa ran forward and placed her hands on Louis’ shoulders.

“Louis, honey, give them some space,” Christa looked back at the girls. “Please, come on in,” She moved along with Louis out of the way for them to enter. Omid stood impatiently in the front living room, giving a cheery smile to the two girls.

Both of them looked up and around at everyone before looking down again. The grip of their joined hands grew tighter. 

The social worker talked for a few minutes and wished the family the best of luck then went on their way. 

The room was filled with silence as Louis stood behind Omid, poking his head out, and Christa stood closer to the girls. 

Christa knelt down and gave them a small smile. “Hi there, my name’s Christa and that is my husband Omid,” She gestured back at Omid who gave a friendly wave.

“That’s me. This here is one of my sons, Louis,” He ruffled Louis’ dreadlocks affectionately while Louis giggled. “Violet and Omar are in the kitchen I think,” Omid moved into the next room to find his other children.

“What’s your name?” Christa’s voice drew the attention of the two girls. 

The girl on the left with shorter red hair took a shaky breath, willing all of her courage to speak her name. “B-brody,” she cleared her throat awkwardly. 

“I’m Ruby!” the girl on the right said with a raised voice as if she was trying to draw all the attention away from Brody to help her. It seemed that Brody was definitely the shyer one. She wouldn’t maintain eye contact for too long and seemed to be shaking slightly. Christa looked in Ruby’s eyes and saw a fiery determination in them that grew her curiosity. 

“Those are lovely names. I-” Christa was suddenly cut off by a loud, high-pitched scream coming from the kitchen. Christa immediately ran over along with Brody and Ruby who were expecting that something awful had happened. 

When they got to the kitchen, however, it seemed like nothing was really wrong. Omid had his hands on his head while he looked at a blonde girl who was hovering over an empty baking pan of brownies.

“Those were your new sisters’ brownies to make them feel more at home,” Omid gasped. “Spit them out right now, Violet!”

Violet looked at him for a second then back at Christa. Slowly she opened up her mouth, making a bleh sound when a dark brown blob fell out, hitting the baking pan. Violet stared back at Brody and Ruby for a second, her expression unreadable before looking away and sprinting off. 

“Oh no,” Omid looked at the pan with a sad expression.

“What did you expect she’d do when you told her to spit it out?” Christa shook her head while placing a hand on her hip. 

A small sniffle drew their attention to Louis who fidgeted with his dreadlocks. “I ate some too,” 

Omar walked forward and placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder before walking forward.  “Don’t worry, I hid some in the upper cupboard,” Omar stood on his tiptoes and took down a container filled with brownies. 

“Good thinking, Omar,” Omid gave a thumbs up before turning back to Brody and Ruby. “So, care for some brownies? They’re super good! Omar made them,” Omid placed a hand on Omar’s shoulder, a proud, beaming smile appearing on his face. 

Brody and Ruby looked at each other for a few seconds. 

“Okay,” Ruby whispered. 

Omar walked forward with the container and the two sisters took a brownie each, cautiously biting down on the treat. Their eyes immediately lit up from the chocolatey goodness of the brownie.

“It’s delicious!” Brody exclaimed and took another huge bite. 

Omid and Christa shared a smile. They stood around in the kitchen for a few minutes, giving their two new additions to the household some time to relax and enjoy the snack. Christa kept glancing back from time to time, wondering when Violet was going to show up… if she was going to show up.

“Louis,” Christa’s voice drew the dreadlocked boy's attention up from his own brownie. “Why don’t you show Brody and Ruby that song you wrote for them?” 

Louis’ eyes practically sparkled with excitement. Scarfing down his brownie in a single bite, he ran over into the next room. His dreadlocks bounced with each step he took. Omar soon followed behind him along with their two new siblings.

Christa turned to Omid and was about to speak when he held up a hand.

“I got it. I’ll keep an eye on them and you can check on Violet,” Omid gave a reassuring smile. Christa leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on his cheek before walking back outside. She had a fairly good idea where her daughter had run off to.

\----

“Okay, so this is a song I wrote just for you two and Vi. It’s called  _ Sisters _ ,” Louis turned on the piano seat dramatically before raising his hands up with a grand flourish. His fingers pressed down on the keys, playing a living yet calming tune. It seemed to make him happy to be able to play this song for them; his smile grew as the song continued, only lessening whenever he hit a sour note or two. 

Brody and Ruby shared a look of utter surprise at the song. They couldn’t believe that Louis had written the song, let alone the fact that it was for them. Louis’ fingers danced across the keys until he reached the ending where he slammed down on the keys. Turning back to face his audience, he was met with a lively round of applause from his dad and some light clapping from his brother. Brody and Ruby were still too shocked by the gesture to even clap. 

“You wrote that for us?” Brody’s mouth was slightly open as her mind tried to comprehend it. Ruby didn’t seem much different.

“Yep!” Louis beamed. “I spent a really long time on it too,” Louis nervously scratched the back of his head. “Did you like it?”

Brody and Ruby nodded excitedly to which Louis’ smile grew even more.

“Well, Brody, Ruby why don’t we play an ice breaker game to get to know each other better? We can start with easy questions.” Omid sat down on the couch and motioned for the rest of them to join him.

“Oh, oh!” Louis slid across the couch. “Can I choose the first question?”

“Is that okay with you two?” Omid looked over at Brody and Ruby who sat at the other end of the couch. 

“Yeah,’ Ruby’s hand was still holding Brody’s.

“Ok, so what’s your least favorite food?” Louis asked with excitement. “Mine’s cantaloupe,” Louis stuck out his tongue and made a disgusted face just at the thought. 

“It’s not that bad, Louis,” Omar commented while he took a seat.

“It’s the worst!” Louis huffed, falling back further into the couch. Omid laughed at his son’s dramatics when his eyes wandered over to the backyard. He sure hoped Christa was having some luck with Violet.

\-----

Christa wandered the backyard, sidestepping a few toys that had been left out back that her and Omid must’ve missed when they were cleaning the house for their foster kids’ first day. She continued to make her way further into the backyard until she reached the rickety, half-built treehouse. Omid had started on it a few months ago when he got caught up in the excitement with their kids when they asked for one. After a few days of giving it his best shot, it became clear almost immediately that this project would be better if they got professionals. So Omid and Christa put up a sign to remind their kids not to climb up into the treehouse. With Violet’s love of climbing trees and her desire to hide away whenever she felt too overwhelmed by her emotions, Christa would bet that that was where her daughter had ended up.

“Violet?” Christa called out from the ground below the treehouse. Even though Violet didn’t respond, she could see her blonde hair peeking out from the half-built bones of the treehouse. “It’s not safe up there. You should get down,”

“Why do you care?” Violet snapped. Her words were muffled by her knees that were drawn up to her chest. Her arms wrapped around her knees, squeezing them tightly while her face was buried, hiding away from the outside world. 

“I care because you’re my daughter and that treehouse is a safety hazard,” Christa stated in her usual matter of fact tone, but Violet could feel the worry within her mom’s voice. Christa placed her hands on her hips. “So will you please get down from there?”

“No,” Violet turned her face away from her mom. “It won’t matter soon anyway. I won’t be your daughter for much longer,” Violet’s voice wavered at the end of that statement. Violet cursed internally as she wiped away furiously at some of the tears that had escaped her eyes.

Christa’s hands fell down to her sides, her eyes wide with shock at Violet’s statement. “Why do you say that?” She moved to try and get a better view of her daughter, her eyes searching the tree carefully in fear that the treehouse could fall apart any minute.

“You’ve got real daughters now, so you don’t need one like me,” Violet looked down angrily at Christa and locked eyes before her gaze was hidden once again by her knees. Violet knew that she was less than the ideal daughter. She wasn’t a social butterfly, she never cared that much for girly things and just never seemed to fit the right mold for what a daughter should be. She always knew that. 

But when Brody and Ruby had walked into the house, that fact became cemented in her heart. They were two nice, well-behaved girls who seemed to more fit what an ideal daughter would be than she ever could. It didn’t help that they were sisters. It was pretty obvious that her mom and dad had become tired with her and wanted to replace her with better kids. Better daughters. “I already had my last meal, so you don’t need to worry about that,” Violet whispered, her eyes stinging with more tears. “You can just send me back to the orphanage,” 

“We’re not going to do that, Violet,” Christa’s voice was calm and gentle even though her eyes searched wildly for a way to climb up and safely retrieve her daughter. “Omar and Louis would be devastated if they heard what you said. So would your father.”

Violet remained silent for a minute. The only sound was her soft sniffle which she tried her best to hide. 

“Violet, your father and I love you with all of our hearts,” Christa grunted as she lifted herself up onto the first branch. “We’d never send you back,” She focused on climbing the next branch. Violet was still quiet.

“Do you remember the day you said you wanted to stay here? That you wanted to make this your home?” Christa’s hand reached blindly for the last branch she needed to climb. “That day was one of the happiest days for us. Do you know why?” Christa had successfully climbed up to the partially built treehouse. “Because we had wanted you to stay and be our daughter. We love you for who you are,” 

Violet’s wide eyes shot up and turned to look at Christa who had a comforting smile on her face. She studied her mom’s face for a minute and realized just how genuine her words had been. 

“We’re hoping that Brody and Ruby will find this place warm and comforting and - if they want it to be - their home. But that doesn’t mean for a second that Omid and I don’t want you. Alright?”

Violet looked down and gave a short nod. The whisper of a smile played on her lips.

“Now, how about we get down from here?” Christa offered Violet her hand which she took only a few seconds later. Violet immediately jumped down to the next branch, swinging off of it and onto the next. Within seconds she was back on the ground. 

Christa shook her head as she made her way down. Sometimes she swore that Violet was part monkey with how fast and with ease she could climb trees. Christa landed hard on her feet, stumbling a bit, and looked back to see that Violet was waiting there for her. The pair walked together back into the house where they found the rest of the family still playing the icebreaker game with Brody and Ruby. Violet quietly sat down next to Louis and Christa took her spot by Omid. The two quickly joined in the game and soon the living room was filled with laughter.

\----

It had been two weeks since the first day that Brody and Ruby had come to the Farhad's household. So far everything was going great. Not only was there really good food and a nice room that they could share at this place, but everyone seemed really nice. 

Well, that was except for Violet, who neither Brody or Ruby could get a read on. Whenever she was in the room she was usually quiet and didn’t open up much unlike Louis who seemed to be practically bursting at the seams with the information he wanted to share. Still, this family was a lot nicer than all the previous households the sisters had been put in and for that they were thankful. 

Brody woke up with a smile on her face. Today was Saturday which meant that they had the whole day to play with their siblings. Louis had promised the other night that he would show them all the cool hidden spots in the house that he and Violet had found when they first got here. Brody was so caught up in the excitement for the day that she failed to see that she was walking too close to a side table. Her hip hit the side of it sharply, causing her to wince in pain before realizing that she had tipped over a lamp. Brody tried to grab the lamp in time but it slipped through her fingers, hitting the floor with a loud crash. 

Brody closed her eyes when it did, her heart pounding at her mistake. _ I messed up. _ Brody’s hands shook.  _ I’m gonna get us kicked out again!  _ Brody’s attention was pulled away from the broken lamp by a pair of footsteps running through the house. Violet appeared through one of the doorways, her eyes wide with shock at what happened.  _ She’s totally going to tell her parents.  _ Without a word, Violet walked over and knelt beside the lamp then stood back up again. 

Ruby suddenly appeared in the doorway, her eyes studying the scene with concern. 

“I-I’m really sorry, I can clean it!” Brody leaned over and snatched up the first shard only for it to slice open one of her fingers. Brody stood up and clutched her finger, causing Ruby to run to her side. 

Violet’s eyes grew larger for a second again before she reached out and wrapped her hand around Brody’s wrist.

Brody felt her stomach twist at the gesture and she violently pulled away. 

Violet looked alarmed by the harsh reaction. She was even more surprised to see that Ruby had gotten in position to fight her. Violet crossed her arms and looked away. “I was just going to show you where the first aid kit was. We need to get a bandaid on that,” she whispered. 

“Oh shoot, I’m sorry,” Ruby uncurled her fist. “It’s just… I…”

“You don’t have to explain,” Violet mumbled. Her eyes seemed to hold a level of sadness to them when she started to walked away only to stop in her tracks when neither of them had followed her. “Come on,”

Brody and Ruby immediately joined Violet’s side. The three walked quietly over to a cabinet in one of the hallways. Violet grabbed the kit and found a bandaid and some ointment. Cautiously she held out her hand for Brody who, after a few seconds, held her own hand out. Violet carefully put some of the ointment on the wound before wrapping it with the bandaid.

“My dad says kissing the bandaid makes it heal faster, but I just think that’s a load of shit,” Violet’s eyes were focused on the ground. 

“Thanks,” Brody looked up at Violet who turned away without a word and started walking away. She could’ve sworn she saw the smallest smile on Violet’s face. After a minute or so the sisters heard another sound, drawing their attention back to the room where the lamp had broken. 

Violet had gotten the broom and had started to sweep it up. Brody and Ruby shared a look of surprise. They thought for sure they had figured Violet out. But instead Violet had not only helped them out with Brody’s cut and cleaning up the mess, but when Omid and Christa had asked who broke it Violet lied and said she did. 

Louis had also jumped in on the blame, hoping to lessen the blow for his older sister. That day stuck with the two sisters, repeating in their minds for the next week or so until Louis talked with them.

“Yeah, Vi can be a bit prickly at first but she grows on you, I promise,” His classic charismatic smile seemed to give Brody and Ruby some confidence in his words. After all, they had been wrong about Violet so far. “Hey, since you two have been here for a while, why don’t we throw a party to celebrate!”

“A party?” Brody raised an eyebrow. It didn’t seem like that big of a deal to throw a party. 

“Yeah! Hang on a second,” Louis scampered off, sliding across the floor before calling upstairs. “Violet, get down here!” 

Violet grumbled, hunching over while she went down the stairs. “What, Lou?”

“Let’s throw a party for Brody and Ruby to celebrate them being here,” Louis beamed over at his sister. 

Violet looked over at Ruby and Brody and then gave a shrug. “Okay,”

Ruby and Brody could feel their excitement for the party grow. 

“So when’s the hootenanny?” Ruby asked, the anticipation clear on her face. 

“Hootenanny?” Louis cocked his head to the side.

“It means a party,” Brody added.

“Oh! Let’s have it tonight,” Louis looked around. “Just gotta find Omar and let Mom and Dad know,” Louis was off like a shot before any of them could comment on that. After a few minutes Louis had gotten permission from Omid and Christa and Omar had joined in by Louis’ side. 

“I’ll go get the pillows,” Louis pointed his thumb to himself. “Vi, get the blankets for the fort,” Violet nodded and went off to gather the items. “Omar will be in charge of the snacks.” Omar disappeared into the kitchen to start on his task.

“What should we do?” Brody walked forward to Louis.

“Oh, can we be in charge of the decorations?” Ruby bounced on the balls of her feet. 

Louis grinned at the question. “Yeah! Mom and Dad said we should use the back living room. There’s some cool candles and stuff in the hallway cupboard.” Louis gestured behind him.

Soon all the siblings were off to their respective tasks and returned to the back living room after about fifteen minutes. Ruby and Brody had already gotten started on the decorations, placing a cool sign up and getting some candles out in case they wanted to use them. Omar was the first back of the other three siblings, carrying with him his special snacks, and gently placed them on the table. 

Violet was the next to appear with her hands filled with all the softest blankets she could find. There were so many that she could barely be seen behind them. 

Louis sprinted behind her, barely dodging her while he stumbled back and forth to not knock down the tower of pillows in his arms. “Okay let’s get this party started,” Louis tossed aside the pillows and then raised up a finger. “I mean... hootenanny?”

Ruby nodded causing the dreadlocked boy to smile brightly.

Everyone seemed to buzz in agreement at Louis' suggestion.

“Would it be okay if we put on some music?” Brody looked over from her task of putting up the sign. 

“Sure! What kind of music?”

“Country?” Ruby looked unsure if she would get her wish, but Louis, Violet and Omar didn’t seem to mind the music choice. Soon the room was filled with country music which made Ruby’s usual warm smile seem even brighter now. 

“You sure do like country music,” Omar stated while he ate a snack.

“Sure, I mean, don’t it make you wanna boogie?” She looked over at Louis and Violet. 

Violet gave a noncommittal shrug. “I guess, I like-” she was suddenly cut off when a pillow connected with her face, sending her back a few steps. 

Louis chuckled and raised up his pillow in a victory stance. “Pillow fight!” he declared in a fancy voice.

Violet shook her head before snatching up a pillow and attacking Louis with it. Both siblings got a few good hits in when all of the sudden Omar landed a good hit on Violet. The three siblings laughed, pausing when they noticed that Brody and Ruby hadn’t joined in.

“Come on, guys,” Louis pleaded, receiving another hit from Violet. “Join us!”   


Ruby and Brody smiled at each other and in a silent agreement grabbed a pillow each and started to attack. It was all going smoothly. Everyone seemed to be having a good time until Louis had hit Brody with a rather hard attack. 

Ruby immediately got serious. Using her pillow, she sent Louis flying backward, landing hard on his butt. Omar and Violet looked over at Louis who had the same shocked expression as they did. 

Ruby instantly regretted her decision. Last time she had let her fiery side through it had cost them their home. “I-” Ruby stopped when she heard Louis devolve in a fit of laughter. 

“Damn,” Violet smiled at her sisters before looking back at Louis who was still laughing.

“I guess we know who to look out for in pillow fights,” Omar stated and walked over to help Louis onto his feet.

“You’re super strong! The only other person who could do a hit like that would be Vi,” Louis nudged Violet’s shoulder playfully. “I gotta step up my game.”

Ruby felt her shoulders relax when she saw them all pick up where they had left off. Soon everyone was on the floor, each of them catching their breaths when Louis jumped up to his feet.

“Onto the next part- let’s build a fort to sleep in!” Louis looked expectantly at his siblings, anxious for their response. They looked around at each other and soon all came to an agreement. 

Violet and Brody helped set up the blankets while Omar and Ruby crawled through, making sure each pillow and chair helped hold up the foundation of their fort. Louis jumped around between the two teams helping out in any way he could.

It took a couple attempts (the first few had ended with more than one of the siblings caught in a web of blankets), but eventually they had gotten it right. They all stood together, looking on proudly at their accomplishment. After a few minutes to brush their teeth and get into their PJs, they each took turns getting into the fort. Louis led the way followed by Violet, then Brody and Ruby with Omar bringing up the rear. 

In the center of their fort Louis and Ruby had worked hard to set up five beds that created a circle. Everyone chose a spot and lay down. Louis started off the conversation about favorite movies while Violet and Omar interjected at certain points. Brody and Ruby whispered along with the three siblings before they shared a secret smile. They couldn’t believe how happy they were. It had been a super fun evening. One that they hoped in the future they could do again.


End file.
